Summer Flags (Revisited)

Well, it's not quite summer, but close enough for us to make our summer flags.  My daughters had so much fun last year making and having these flags to use that we had to make them again.  This time, instead of kool aid, we used Easter egg dyes that I purchased on sale after Easter.

I prepared the dyes with hot water and vinegar.  Each end was dipped into the dye for a few minutes.

                                      Lastly, the middle was dipped into the dye.

                                 I rinsed the flags out with cool water and we hung them to dry.

Using last year's dowel, we assembled the flag and it was ready to fly.

My daughter's love running around carrying the flag and standing still swinging it back and forth because it makes an impressive "flag rippling" noise.

Last year, we left them outside all summer long but discovered the sun faded them quickly that way.  This year we will put them in the garden shed along with the other outside toys, so the colors will last longer.  This brick makes a handy little stand to hold them when they're not in use.

May Nature Table Crafts

It is so exciting to see nature blooming outside with all the beautiful colors.  It seems like each day there is something new to look at, something beautiful to admire.  Right now we are enjoying the pink blossoms on the apple tree.   When we moved to our house, 5 years ago, I was so happy to have a tree in the backyard.  Not only does it provide shade for the sandbox on a hot summer day, it houses bird nests, and holds our swing (and occasionally a daring climber). We appreciate and anticipate the tree's appearance throughout the changing seasons, always a beautiful reminder of cycles and change.

Inside, we've made some new decorations for the nature table.  I cut out some felt leaves and flowers that were easily strung with thread and a needle to make a spring garland.

At the top of the nature table is some cut "paper grass".  We colored strips of white paper, green.  Then we folded the paper accordion style and cut a fringe to make the grass.  Flowers were also drawn in the grass.  I think the only thing we need now are some little eggs!  With all that chirping outside, we may just be lucky enough to come across some robin eggshells outside.

Crafting for the nature table

We are welcoming the month of May with a little spring banner above the play cubbies.

Around here, May means some much needed warmer temperatures and more spring colors outside- a real cause for celebration!

We've even started making some changes to the nature table.  Just the past week or two the bees have come out and are very active.  So active, in fact, that both of my daughters were stung with their very first bee stings ever.  On a visit to the playground my oldest daughter found this piece of an old and abandoned nest.  She brought it home and placed it at the nature table.  A few days later we crafted our own bees out of modeling beeswax and added them to the nest.  The girls decided they needed "really pointy stingers," which they have but of course these bees won't sting!

Drawing: Free Drawing and Form Drawing

A new addition to our drawing materials is a set of oil pastels and pastel paper.  My daughters have been using them every so often on drawing day and have enjoyed this new medium.  Originally, I purchased them because I liked the idea of blending and smudging to create new colors.

The pastels draw well, with bright colors and a smooth application.   They aren't too messy either.  We've found they are a nice change from crayons, markers and pencils every once and awhile.

In other news, my oldest daughter (6 1/2 yrs) has started form drawing.  I purchased Form Drawing for Beginners, by Donna Simmons because I actually know very little about this Waldorf method.  Form drawing is a therapeutic art, which among other things, helps the child improve and prepare for handwriting.

My daughter has really taken to it, she loves it and requests time to work on it.

The images beginning with straight lines and curves later move to running forms and then spirals.  They are very simple and are practiced several times, in the air, on large paper and then on smaller paper.  I like the way each form encourages slow, careful and deliberate movements.  Each form is structured and organized in a way that allows the drawer to focus and reflect requiring a peaceful environment- which is always a good thing.

I use an easel to draw the form and she stands and draws it in the air, on large paper, and later in her drawing journal.  We've also started coloring boarders around the work, in the traditional Waldorf fashion.   My forms aren't perfect and it is harder than it looks.  I always seem to find something that can be improved in each one, but it is fun having a challenge like that.

A YouTube recommendation: Media and Children

My sister, a resident Pediatrician, recommended this video after viewing it as part of her grand rounds presentations.  This is a great resource and informational presentation on Media and Children by Dimitri Christakis, pediatrician, parent and researcher.  It is only 15 minutes long but provides a clear understanding of the affects of media on young children.

Soap Carving For Kids

I enjoy trying out new arts and crafts activities as much as my daughters do.  It is fun to experiment, learn new skills and take creative risks in this way.  I recently came across the book Soap Carving For Children of All Ages, and found it a great inspiration to give soap carving a try. 

There are only a few supplies needed to soap carve and we made most of our own.  Ivory soap is best suited for carving (as the book says), it doesn't crumble like other soaps and since the company used to sponsor soap carving competitions they are like the official soap of soap carving!

Making the Tools: One tool needed for carving is a knife type wooden stick for taking off the sides of the soap bar.  We made ours using a tongue depressor (or popsicle stick).  We formed the point by rubbing the sides of the stick against sand paper until it became pointed.  On the other end of the stick we made a chisel tool  by rubbing only the widest side against the sandpaper. (My daughters didn't use the chisel at all, but older children probably would.) 

The second tool we made was like a spear, used for outlining the soap pattern and drawing details on the carving.  I found some small dowels in our craft box and we used a pencil sharpener to create the point.  

My oldest daughter decided to make a leaf, so I drew a leaf outline on her bar of soap with a permanent marker.  (My youngest daughter wanted a tree which proved unsuccessful and hence no photos of that.)  Choosing a doable pattern (or image) is the key to successful soap carving.  It is best to keep the image very simple.  Once the outline is drawn on the soap my daughter traced it with the "spear" tool, digging it into the soap to create the image.  The "ivory" lettering was removed by gently scraping the top.

The "knife" tool is then used to take off small pieces around the outline.  Once my daughter understood that she wasn't trying to cut off large chunks, but shave off the sides instead, it was pretty easy.  The soap itself, is softer to carve than one would think, and it doesn't take long to have a pile of shaving at the work mat. (Which reminds me, I wasn't prepared for the amount of shavings, covering the table or doing this outside would be best.)  The toothbrush is useful to brush away shavings from the carving, and carving edges can be smoothed by rubbing fingers around the image.

 The finishing touch is adding the details, like the leaf veins, in this pattern.   Both of my daughters enjoyed the soap carving and we will surely do this again.  I gave it a try myself, earlier in the week, to test it as a possible craft and made this heart.

This idea comes from the book, and after the carving is done it was painted with watercolor paint mixed with a few drops of water.  I chose to not introduce the painting to my daughters so that they could use their soap, as soap, for washing.

Craft: Paper Molds from Cookie Molds

For some time I've been looking at cookie molds over the internet with the idea that it would be a fun way to make cookies or paper creations. I couldn't believe my luck when on my latest trip to the Goodwill store I happened to find two cookie molds. We used them once to make cookies and then decided we would take a try at paper molding (or casting as it may be called).

The activity is pretty simple and only uses a few supplies. First, we sprayed the molds with a nonstick spray to help prevent sticking. Next, we tore 6 or 7 paper towels into 1 inch pieces and put them into a blender. Our second time doing this we also added two half sheets (different colors each) of construction paper. Next, we filled the blender half full of warm water and let the paper soak for a few minutes.

After blending and once we had a watery mix of paper and paper towels (in this photo we had used just paper towels), we were ready for filling the molds.

This part proved to be a fun sensorial experience for my daughters. Placing a towel under the molds, we took handfuls of mixture and filled each mold with the paper mixture. Next, using a large sponge, we firmly pressed the sponges onto the molds to soak up the water and compress the paper into the mold.

The sponges were squeezed out into a bowl. We repeated this until all the water was removed. Also, at this point, extra paper mixture was added into the mold if needed.

I placed the molds into our toaster oven at 200 degrees for about 20 minutes (keeping a careful eye on things) to dry them quickly.

While using the molds I also wondered if this activity could be done with a cookie cutter so we tried that too. We used the same sponge method for removing water. (For this paper we used red, purple and yellow construction paper with the paper towels- and F.Y.I. -a little construction paper goes a long way.)

The next day we decorated the molded paper. We used watercolors on one.

The cookie cutter mold is on the top left and came out pretty good. I found the molded paper also looks attractive left as is.

We also decorated with glitter...lots and lots of glitter. Overall, my daughters loved making these because of the involved process of tearing paper, using a blender, sticking hands in water paper mess and sponging water up. The decorating was just as fun too.